Chapter 21

Hearing this question, both the Detective and Bo Suihan’s expressions turned sour.

The former forced a bitter smile and replied, “Didn’t I already tell you? The location of today’s headless body is exactly the same as where the heads were hidden over ten years ago.”

“The Bo Family members’ heads were found three months after the incident, following a public tip-off. They were discovered inside a large swallow’s nest on a beam in the old mansion of the city’s second wealthiest family, the Wang Family.”

As the Detective spoke, he rummaged through a pile of documents and pulled out a photo from that time.

Wu Xiaojiu took it and looked.

He saw an old beam, and in the middle of a huge swallow’s nest twined with branches and vines,

dozens of heads-men, women, old and young, even children-all jumbled together without any order, placed quietly inside the nest.

The most shocking and horrifying part was that the eyelids of all those heads had been deliberately cut off, so the dead could not close their eyes.

Their stiff, clouded eyeballs stared ahead, each rounder and wider than the last,

fixing an unblinking gaze as if unable to rest in peace.

It looked utterly terrifying.

Wu Xiaojiu’s hand trembled as he held the photo, unconsciously avoiding Bo Suihan’s gaze.

He finally understood why the other insisted on coming along.

When such a tragedy struck one’s family-beloved relatives, bodies and heads separated, unable to rest in peace even in death-

If it were himself, Wu Xiaojiu asked honestly,

he could never let it go, either.

“Because the Wang Family’s old mansion was always strictly guarded and outsiders could never get in, every member of the Wang Family became a suspect. All of them were imprisoned, awaiting investigation.”

The Detective continued, “The authorities took this case extremely seriously, so the Wang Family members were detained in prison for three months. Even with no clues, there was never any pardon.”

“By the fourth month, with still no leads, the police finally began to suspect that the real culprit was someone else. But on the very day the pardon was received-”

“The youngest son of the Wang Family went mad in prison. With nothing but a dining fork, he stabbed and killed more than a dozen of his own family members, both above and below him in the household.”

At this, the Detective sighed.

Bo Suihan’s gaze was distant, his face betraying no emotion.

Noticing Wu Xiaojiu’s concerned look, he nodded slightly, speaking to offer comfort.

“Don’t worry about me. These are all old stories from more than ten years ago. Time has already washed away the scars.”

After speaking, he turned to the Detective again.

“This case caused a huge sensation at the time. The youngest son of the Wang Family became the scapegoat, but it was just to cover up the truth and shift public attention. The old mansions of the Bo Family and Wang Family were supposedly demolished and replaced with new buildings.”

“At the time, the crime scenes were supposedly destroyed completely. How can we find any clues now?”

The Detective smiled at them, then reached out to reveal a ring of keys.

“All the news was fake. The Bo Family massacre remains unsolved to this day. Neither place was ever demolished. They just found somewhere similar and staged it for the public. Because someone has to look after the properties, the keys to both places are in my hands now.”

With things said so clearly, what were they waiting for?

The three of them quickly went downstairs and hailed a passing taxi.

They headed toward the old sites.

Just as the Detective had said, the further the taxi drove, the more desolate the surroundings became.

Finally, they arrived at the gate of a dilapidated but clearly once-grand villa.

The Detective took out the keys, unlocked the door, and let the other two inside.

As they stepped onto the rustling fallen leaves, Bo Suihan couldn’t help himself.
In front of the two of them.

He cried out loud.

Actually, along the way, no matter if Bo Suihan was listening to Wu Xiaojiu and the Detective’s conversation, or their discussion about the case,

his face remained expressionless-neither sad nor happy, neither joyful nor angry.

From beginning to end, he was always calmly like a Long Aotian.

So much so that Wu Xiaojiu really believed his words about having healed from his scars.

But the moment they returned to the old place,

the faint mask on Bo Suihan’s face was suddenly torn away, exposing the heart that, years ago, had been terrified and left riddled with wounds.

Bo Suihan cried, wiping his own tears as he did so.

He kept muttering under his breath.

“Why cry? Don’t cry. Crying is the most useless thing. Right now, the most important thing is to find clues and avenge the family.”

Seeing him like this, Wu Xiaojiu couldn’t help but feel a rare pang of sympathy.

He stepped forward, just about to offer comfort.

Bo Suihan noticed his movement and instinctively dodged backward.

He stood beneath a large locust tree, its shade covering the edge of the moon, the falling shadow hiding his expression.

Only Bo Suihan’s slightly tearful voice could be heard.

“Let me have a moment alone. Returning to this place, my feelings are too complicated. Let’s split up. If you find anything, call me immediately.”

This unfamiliar tone instantly pulled Wu Xiaojiu’s thoughts back to when they first met.

Maybe now he could understand Bo Suihan’s attitude of keeping people at arm’s length.

Wu Xiaojiu’s feelings grew complicated too. He responded with a soft “Mm,” then quickly grumbled, “Earlier you wanted to live and die with me, now you want to split up. Men really are all talk.”

His voice was neither loud nor soft.

Bo Suihan could definitely hear it.

But he said nothing, just turned and walked away alone, stepping on the rustling leaves.

In the clearing,

only Wu Xiaojiu and the Detective were left, staring at each other.

“Hello, I’m Wu Xiaojiu. My friend is familiar with this place, but it’s my first time here, so I might need you to introduce me to it.”

“Just call me Wang Xiao. I’m actually not too familiar with this place either. I’m new here, missed the Bo Family case, so it’s my first time too. No need to worry about trouble or anything.”

Suddenly, only he and a stranger were left in the clearing.

Wu Xiaojiu still felt a bit uncomfortable, and suddenly became very polite.

The two of them bowed every two steps, thanked each other every three, slowly making their way forward.

Finally, after wandering through the dilapidated little garden, they entered the main house of the Bo Family.

Looking at the scene in the photo before him,

Wu Xiaojiu turned on his phone’s flashlight and crouched down to examine.

“Why are there still dried bloodstains, fingernails, hair, human nerve endings on the ground… Isn’t the crime scene preserved a bit too perfectly?”

It was almost exactly as it appeared in the photos.

Except for the head, which needed to be reattached to the body for burial,

all the bloodstains, fingernails, even hair and some unidentified objects from severed limbs seen in the photos

were still lying on the ground, just as they were, untouched, exactly like in the pictures.

The Detective crouched down.

He reached out and touched a large patch of blood.

Because the blood had sprayed out from severed limbs, it had pooled thick and deep on the floor.

Touching it, it felt lumpy and stiff, like freshly cooled, shapeless chocolate.

He slowly spoke.